8 soldiers arrested in Burkina Faso, accused of preparing a coup

INA-  sources

The authorities in Burkina Faso announced, on Tuesday, that they had arrested eight soldiers on charges of seeking to “destabilize institutions” by preparing a coup.
 
 
The Military Prosecutor of Ouagadougou said in a statement that the Military Public Prosecution had received, on Saturday, a report of a “project to destabilize the institutions of the Republic, planned by a group of military personnel”, based on the confession of a “gang member”.
 
The statement indicated that an investigation had been opened and the arrest of “eight soldiers”, noting that their interrogation was underway.
 
 
 
Security sources told AFP that Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Zongrana is one of the detainees.
 
Nungrana, commander of the 12th Infantry Commando Corps, was the commander of the troop pool in Sector West engaged in the fight against terrorism in a country that regularly suffers from jihadist attacks.
 
One of the security sources said that since the demonstrations that took place at the end of November, this officer has been hovering around him and a number of other soldiers, with “suspicions of preparing a conspiracy aimed at destabilizing” the regime’s stability by conspiring with foreign parties.
 
 
 
On November 27, hundreds of Burkinabe residents took to the streets to denounce the authorities’ “inability” to stop jihadist violence. Violence erupted between protesters and the police, injuring about ten people.